When I was planning my wedding when I was younger, I imagined the groom and groomsmen essentially in Georgetown Prep uniforms- khaki pants, boat shoes, navy blue blazers, crisp white shirts, and bow ties. I somehow didn’t trust my future imaginary groom to dress himself. And I knew I didn’t want tuxes. I’m just not a fan of tuxes.
Kendall has great style, and his own style. Although you could call him preppy, I would prefer to go with tattooed gentleman. He had it in his mind what he wanted, and really didn’t want (or need) my help putting his look together. He also wanted to buy a suit rather than rent his. He wanted to feel the same way I did in my dress in his suit.
Kendall and my dad actually went together to Brooks Brothers to pick out their navy blue suits. Admittedly, I did see his suit before our big day, but it made no less of an impact during our first look where we both cried. He looked so handsome and so him in the suit and tie he picked out. I’m so glad he went with his gut and picked a style that suited him so well. 
For the guys in my family who were involved in the wedding (Daddy D, my Uncle Jay, and my cousins who were ushers) my mom thought navy would be best too! Like I said, my dad got his at Brooks Brothers with Kendall. My cousins got theirs at the Brooks Brothers Factory Store, and my Uncle rented his from Black Tux, the same place we picked for the groomsmen. Since he and two of my cousins were coming from the UK, it made a lot more sense to buy/ rent here rather than travel with suits. I don’t think everyone totally HAS to match, but it was fun putting all my special family members in matching ties that coordinated with our wedding colors. I honestly can’t find where I got the ties, but there’s a similar style at The Tie Bar.
I can honestly say we might not have been able to pull of the looks for the groomsmen if not for the amazing customer service from The Black Tux. Kendall and I sat down one morning and decided on The Blue Suit, which was the lighter of the navy suits. My Uncle Jay rented the Navy Suit, which was darker and closer to my dad’s.
The Black Tux was great because we could also pick their shirts, shoes, and ties, leaving nothing to chance. I can’t remember if we had the guys rent belts but that’s an option too. Kendall rented the shoes for himself too because he liked them so much, and I think it honestly made a difference in pictures because of the extra shine. Everything arrives in a suitcase shaped box and when you’re done, everything goes back in the box and is ready to mail back!
Their customer service came into play when we had a groomsman situation with less than a month to the wedding. My Uncle Matt stepped in like a champ and the groomsman who had to bow out graciously left his payment to The Black Tux so as not to put the next guy in a pinch. We called their store at Nordstrom at Montgomery Mall, and they sent Matty’s sizes in less than a week, letting us keep Scott’s in case we needed any extra of anything. It all worked out very smoothly.
Although The Black Tux included black dress socks with the rentals, as a present to the guys, we got them all funky socks from The Tie Bar in different shades of blue, pink, and grey.
There were a couple little “Easter eggs,” in our wedding- hidden symbols that meant something to each of us. One of them was maps. Kendall loves maps, and we can’t wait to travel the world together. For Christmas I got him cuff-links with a map of Brandon, where he’s from, and DC, where we are together. Then we got the guys, as a token of our appreciation for showing up handsome af, map flasks. 
How did the men in your wedding dress? I would love to know if you rented or bought and where from!
photos by Darrell McDavid
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